A Change of Life
by Samantha-LeFay
Summary: He touches my shoulder. I look up from the screen. “Finished?” he asks in his sexy voice, kissing my neck. “Damon...” I moan. “I can’t finish if you keep doing that...” he chuckles lowly in my ear. Oh well, guess the story of my life will have to wait..
1. Chapter 1

SUMMARY: He touches my shoulder. I look up from the screen. "Finished?" he asks in his sexy voice, kissing my neck. "Damon..." I moan. "I can't finish if you keep doing that..." he chuckles lowly in my ear. Oh well, guess the story of my life will have to wait...

DISCLAIMER: I don't own The Vampire Diaries. If I did, I wouldn't need to write this to pretend I had Damon in my evil writer clutches! And any reference to Elektra is because I honestly love the woman. She's awesome. But she belongs to Marvel. And Marvel, now, unfortunately, belongs to Disney. *shudder*

A/N: ok, let's pretend that Elena got home safe, instead of crashing into whoever she crashed on that last episode. But, for coherence sakes it's been a few days already. Pick up from there. I want Damon for myself and this OC is pretty dear to me so this is just a 'Damon-and-me' story.

PROLOGUE (or something like it)

It was very calm, watching the sunset, sitting on the balcony, feeling the forest around me preparing to go to sleep while the prowlers of the night woke up, shaking off the sleep, ready for tonight's hunt. Mystic Falls was indeed a very quiet place. One might even say calm, peaceful. And, though I wasn't into peaceful environments I needed the calm right now. It was the only reason I had for bothering Jenna, my air-headed but good-hearted godmother. Well, air-headed in a good way. As my mother would say, "volada". I still hadn't found a way to translate that word into English. It was somewhere between air-headed and day-dreamer. The sort of person that, while they are paying attention, their attention span is not what it should be. Complicated. Why was I even thinking about this? Oh, right. I needed a way to get away from the subject of my mother. Right. Of course.

I was honestly sick and tired of this eternal struggle with my mother. The woman was simply impossible. I had no idea how Jenna put up with her, let alone how they ever became best friends. Couldn't my mother just be happy that I was happy? Was there such a huge need for transforming me into the spitting image of my mother? NO! Of course not!

"Well, sure as hell not in _my_ opinion." I mumbled under my breath.

My family, on my mother's side was Spanish. Gypsy to be precise, although they had settled in Peru some generations ago. My father's family was Greek. And between both families, I had a complicated life. You see, my father was a diplomat. He had a very high charge in the Greek embassy here in the U.S., which I never really fully understood. My mother... well, my mother had studied languages and diplomacy. They had met in college and the rest was history.

I remembered hearing my mother say how her little girl would always be the perfect lady and how she would become the next ambassador of Greece or something. But that never happened.

I was bohemian. To say the least. I liked to live the gypsy life. Freedom. My style and fashion sense, while never informal, were not what my mother wanted. The sophisticated heels became high-heeled boots or extravagant stilettos, the dress pants became fashionable jeans, and the elegant blouses became boho tops or casual shirts. In school, while always smart above average, I was never the model student I could've been. I just couldn't be bothered with the effort. Soon, the ballet classes became martial arts, or yoga, which she never understood, the elite gatherings became casual partying, which she hated, and the diplomatic academy and law school were put on hold while I travelled the world with money I made as a writer, photographer and model.

My name is Sophia Amaia Natchios and I am a free spirit and a wandering soul. And there was nothing my mother could do to stop it. So now, there I was, at 21, after finally having "broken up" with my mother, enjoying my last moments of freedom here in the States. In a few days, I would leave for Europe to develop my three passions. And goddamn me if I was going to let my mother get in the way of my living my own life.

So, right now, I just needed a quiet place to rest, find my centre and help me focus on the freedom ahead.

"Sophia?" I turned around at the sound of a very familiar, much missed voice.

"Elena!" said teen soon found herself in a bear hug. Well, bear hug is a bit too much since we're pretty much the same height.

"Oh my God! I've missed you!" Elena squealed out.

"I've missed you too." I mumbled with a pout. "How are things back here?" Elena's face dropped. "That bad?" She shrugged nonchalantly.

"Tell you about it later. But what about you? I thought you would be in college right now!" I chuckled humourlessly.

"Yeah, that didn't work out too well."

"Fought with your mom again?" damn it. Elena knew me too well.

"Not so much as fought with her. It's more of a I-finally-kicked-her-out-of-my-life thing." Elena's eyes widened amusingly.

"Oh my God! Really?" I nodded. "That's fantastic! And I was in dire need of some good news. So what's gonna happen to you now?"

"Well, now... Europe. I'll go and visit Greece for a while, then I'll land myself a job. And I'll build my life from there. But don't think you're off the hook that easy. So, what is it? Guy problems?" Elena huffed.

"Understatement of the century! But I don't want to load my troubles on you at the moment. This deserves a celebration! So grab Jenna, I'll grab Jeremy and we'll all go out to dinner at the Mystic Grill or something. Has Jeremy seen you, by the way?" I shook my head.

"Doubt it. But dinner out sounds wonderful! Come on. Let's go get them!" and without further ado, we left the room, grabbed the missing people, and after Jeremy's and my hasty hello's we set off for the Mystic Grill.

I had clearly forgotten what life in a small town was like. The impossibility to not run into acquaintances, the quaint little restaurants, the need for a calm life. It reminded me of the Shire in Lord of the Rings. Those guys never moved a finger if they didn't have to! But once you find yourself with a big greasy burger and fries in front of you and the likelihood of a sundae for dessert, you stop worrying about your surroundings.

"Oh, well, double work-out tomorrow cause, if not, I'll never be able to do a spinning kick again in my entire life!" all four of us laughed and toasted to comfort food.

"Hey have you guys heard?" Jeremy asked with a worried face. "There's some kinda serial killer on the loose. I saw it in the news. The authorities say he might be here, in Mystic Falls." Jenna shuddered slightly. Elena looked particularly worried.

"How come they haven't found him yet?" I asked, interested.

"No one knows. But then again, he only went on this killing spree last week. He's said to be very quiet. They say he cuts out his victims' throats. They've already baptised him the Vampire Killer because of it." Jeremy added. Elena's eyes widened but I just smirked a bit.

"And, let me guess: he only ever attacks during night-time?"

"Oh yeah." Jeremy nodded. I wanted to continue but Elena cut me off.

"Alright, no murderers during dinner. So, Sophie, what have you been doing lately?" she asked. Our relationship was that of baby sister and spoiling big sister.

"Well, if you all must know, I dropped out of law school, I entered a photography class, I've been modelling to pay the rent, and I've published a book of poems. Not to mention I've been helping out with a bit of a community program for young street kids. They are offered a variety of activities. I chose to help out with the martial arts part. Of course." They all chuckled. Everybody always said that I was great with kids, even though I didn't think I'd make a good mom and I had lost faith in marriage. But martial arts were like breathing to me. I was an expert in several, if I do say so myself, and I believed in the discipline it offered its students. In fact, I still do.

"Busy girl." Jeremy commented.

"With my mother, it's the only way to stay sane." I grumbled as my dinner party laughed at my misery.

"Hey, if you had my love-life, you wouldn't be complaining!" Elena said.

"Speak of the devil..." Jenna whispered amused. All three of us turned to follow her gaze and look at the door. Standing there was a 17- maybe 18-year-old guy. Handsome features, strong jaw and dark eyes. Niiiceeee. And right behind him came... _'Oh, sweet Circe, it should be illegal to be that gorgeous.'_ Tall, dark and handsome. Beautiful features, strong jaw (similar to Elena's guy?), pale skin, muscular build, and bad boy to a T. _'Alright, if I ever had to marry someone, only by looks, it would be this guy.'_ I thought. As if he had heard me, the mystery guy turned to look at me. He had the most mesmerizing pair of blue eyes ever to be found. I have a weakness for blue eyes, and I like to "examine" them. But this particular pair was... perfect. Somewhere between ice-blue and sky-blue. Absolutely gorgeous.

"I take it that means that your reason for loosing sleep is that young one over by the door? The one with the dark eyes?" Elena nodded, sighed, then turned back to her meal.

"Good cause I'm keeping the other one." Elena looked up at me. "You know, tall dark and dangerously gorgeous over there? Right behind your guy?" Elena turned over to look at the two again and her eyes widened.

"Don't even think about it. That's Damon, Stefan's brother."

"Yeah, can you be a bit more specific?" Elena huffed.

"Stefan is my ex."

"The one with the dark eyes." Elena nodded.

"Yes, and the other one -"

"With the amazing blue eyes?" she nodded again.

"_That_ is Damon Salvatore. Stefan's older brother." It was my turn to nod.

"Yeah, yeah, you already said that. What's so wrong with him?"

"He's trouble. Trust me. You don't want to mess with Damon Salvatore." I groaned.

"What's the point of being 21 and owning your life when people don't let you screw it up?" We all laughed. Soon we forgot about the Salvatore brothers. There was much to catch up on.

The dinner went on like that. Catching up, laughing and eating up our fill. We discussed much of Jeremy's mysterious and fantastic recovery. I was so proud when I heard he was back on the right track, catching up on school work, being responsible, drawing. I missed his drawings. He was very talented. Then, it was Elena's turn to confess. She was strangely quiet on the subject of her boyfriend. As if she was scared he would hear her. I couldn't know how he would, given that he and his gorgeous brother were sitting on the other side of the restaurant. But she told me how she was doing at school, how she wasn't on the cheer leading team but that she was fine with it, and that, slowly but surely, she was becoming more and more comfortable with her life. I was so relieved when I hear that. She had suffered too much already. She deserved better. Finally, Jenna started a tirade of complaints against the two devils she had to deal with, which lightened up the air considerably. From them on, we laughed non-stop.

Once I'd had my chocolate sundae, I insisted on paying for us all and, once that scramble for the check was over, we exited the place and headed for our car.

At this point, Jeremy was telling a joke about something, really stupid joke, but it had us stumbling with laughter. Grabbing my poor ribs, I was walking backwards, in order to look at Jeremy.

"That... has to be ... THE most stupid joke eve-" I was cut off when I crashed into a very hard something. It honestly felt like a brick wall. I would've bounced off had it not been for a pair of strong arms that came out of nowhere and held me by the waist. Elena immediately stopped laughing, and, by the look on her face, I turned my head around fully expecting to look up at the devil himself. What I found, however, were those perfect blue eyes, which, I now knew, belonged to the one and only Damon Salvatore.

Suddenly realising that I was still being held up by this "stranger", I pulled myself together and pulled away from those blue eyes. Clearing my throat, I turned to apologize to him but the apology died on my lips. _'My Goddess, he is gorgeous!'_ I shook my head and re-opened my mouth.

"I'm so sorry, it's entirely my fault. I was walking backwards and I-" a slightly cool finger on my lips cut off my ranting. The guy's touch send shivers down my spine.

"I wish girls of such beauty could bump into me all the time." _'Bump? I'm pretty sure I crashed into him.'_

But before I could get another word in, my phone started playing "Hate On Me", GLEE version. I groaned. But I pulled out the phone any way. It was my mother's ring-tone. And if I didn't answer her, she would send the National Guard to track me down or something.

"What?" I growled into the speaker.

"Sophia Amaia Natchios that is no way to talk to your mother and that is not the way a young lady should answer the phone! But then again, you've been a disappointment in that particular department haven't you?" UGHHHH. _'There we go again with what a terrible daughter I've been.'_ I thought. The woman just wouldn't leave me be. She had been trying to guilt-trip me into returning home and back to law-school for over three months now, ever since I turned 21. By this point, I had half a mind to return home. Only to strangle her.

"Mother, I have no intention of listening to your ranting on how you feel so embarrassed to have me as a daughter. I've heard enough of that during my childhood. So stop it. I'm not going back, I'm not going to follow the life you want me to live and I'm not going to try and marry into a royal family!" Technically, she had never really told me she wanted that, but I had heard her hinting at it with one of my aunts. A total failure since both of them were on my side. I heard a snicker next to me and realised Damon Salvatore was still deliciously close. I shivered but turned back to the conversation on time to hear the next part of my mother's delusions.

"I order you to return home. How dare you tell me I have mistreated you? Sophia me vas a hacer caso aunque sea lo ultimo que haga!(1)" I knew she was mad then. She never screamed in Spanish unless she was severely pissed off. Oh well, her loss. I didn't give a rat's ass.

"Mother, for the thousandth time, I want a life of my own. So stop ordering me around, stop trying to tell me how to live MY life, stop pretending I'm 17 and that you still have the law on your side because you don't anymore and if you try to track this call once more, the only reason I'll have for going back home will be to strangle you!" With that, I slammed my hand onto the 'end' button.

"She was trying to track down your phone?" I heard Elena's disbelieving voice and turned around. A side-effect of my altercations with my mother. I tend to forget whether or not I have an audience.

"She's done it before." I said. "I've learned to recognise the slightly strange beep at the beginning of the call whenever she tries it." I added, sighing, already much more calmed. _'Strange, normally I stay mad much longer.'_ Only then did I register the soothing pressure of a hand on my shoulder and I turned to see Damon doing just that. I could've kissed the guy. But then, Elena just grabbed my other arm and dragged me away. I raised my hand slightly as a hasty goodbye. Only then did I notice his brother (_'Stefan, was it?'_) standing beside him. I looked back at Damon. His face was undecipherable. Good. _'I love riddles.'_

Elena took me to the room I'd be occupying for the next few weeks and started helping me unpack.

"So, things are that bad with your mom?" I sighed.

"I'm sorry you had to witness that. Honestly. She can be a real burden." She chuckled.

"Don't mention it. And I can imagine if she still thinks she's got the law on her side..." that made me laugh. "And what do you plan on doing while you're here?" I smiled.

"Well, I have my photography kit here with me so I'll take to wandering around town and probably around the forest too, taking pictures, and maybe writing a bit too." Elena nodded with a small smile.

"Sounds nice. Though I have to warn you. Don't go into the forest. At least not for too long or too deep in. I know better than to try and ban you from something." I laughed.

"Yeah, I have authority issues, I know. But what's wrong with the forest? We've always been able to go there without much trouble." I was intrigued to say the least. The one thing I loved most about Mystic Falls, besides Jenna, Elena and Jeremy, was its forest. There was so much to discover out there.

"It has become dangerous. There have been several animal attacks during the past month or so. It's better that you don't go there too late and stuff like that." I nodded.

"Yeah well, don't worry. My darling father's last gift to me was a pair of sai. You know, like Elektra's?" I have always admired this character. Her strength, her power, her ability to make her way in a world of men. It's cool when a girl gets to kick some serious ass. "They're the reason that I only wear boots nowadays!" we laughed. She knew I could take care of my self. As for my sai, I had fallen in love with them. My daddy had sent for them to be made just like the ones in the movie. Is that cool or what?

"Alright then, just saying. Oh and, even if you won't listen, I have to say this: stay away from Damon Salvatore. I know he can seem charming and handsome-"

"He's the Goddess' gift to women!" I said with a laugh.

"BUT, he's only trouble. He's dangerous. And he's not a very nice person. He's already hurt Caroline, I don't want you to get hurt too. Please." I nodded.

"I didn't know about Caroline, but then again, I've been gone for a while. And I'll try to be careful. You know I like the bad boy type." I pouted. She chuckled.

"You're incorrigible."

"And proud of it." I said with conviction. "Hey, do you have school tomorrow?" Elena looked at me as if I had gone silly.

"Duh! It's Monday!" I pouted again.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Anyway, how about I go pick you, Bonnie and Caroline tomorrow from school, we go for ice-cream of something and we catch up as only we girls know how to?" Elena smiled and nodded.

"That would be great."

"And, you can tell me all that has happened with Stefan." The smile fell off from Elena's face.

"Perhaps it'd be better to just fill you in right now." And so, she went on to tell me pretty much everything that had happened between her and the youngest Salvatore brother. I could feel that there was something she was holding back on me but I held my tongue. She would tell me when she was ready.

By the time she finished, it was past midnight and she had teary eyes.

"Alright girl, you've had a long night. Now, go to sleep. You want to be fresh for school tomorrow. Sweet dreams." She smiled at me, I kissed her forehead, and she left for the night.

Soon after, I was getting ready to go to bed. And I just couldn't stop thinking about Damon Salvatore. He had had a pretty big part in Elena's story. And not a particularly nice one. Though, even if she wasn't specific, Elena had told me that he had helped Jeremy deal with all that had happened. So he couldn't be all that bad. Could he?

I looked at my reflection in the mirror, straight into my caramel eyes. I sighed, picking up the brush and running it through my dark caramel curls. Before leaving for Mystic Falls I had cut it short, leaving practically all of my neck bare. I liked my new look. People usually said I looked like a human-sized candy. Caramel eyes, dark caramel hair and skin. Hey, I went into modelling for a reason.

'_Maybe that's what I'll do for the rest of my life.'_ I was used to a rather high degree of comfort. I liked expensive clothes and nice apartments, that sort of thing. Well, I still had them. I had been working for myself for more or less 3 years now. And I was good at what I did. So I had more than enough money for now. I always worried about my future. Everything about it was so uncertain. Don't get me wrong, that's the way I want it to be, but back then, I was faced with a huge change in my life. And I was young. Very. So I worried. I thought about my dad. My poor, poor dad. He would always try to help me out but my mother wouldn't hear of it. It all comes down to my mother, doesn't it? I wondered what was going on with him. If his work was too much, or if he was doing fine. I wondered if my mom was giving him too much of a hard time or if she had finally backed down. I snorted. _'Not likely.'_

I yawned. It was around 1 in the morning already and I wanted to get a fresh started tomorrow. I finished with my hair and I hit the pillows. In two minutes, I was out.

A/N: I hope you like it! More will come, and soon, so stay tuned. Btw, reviews are love! And they boost my self esteem to pity me and hit that review button!

(1): "You will obey me, even if it's the last thing I do!"


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2 (it's really 1 but let's go ahead and call it 2)

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of something hard hitting my window. I turned towards it to see the largest crow I've ever seen knocking its head against the glass. At first, I was a bit scared. Blame it on the flesh-eating, feathery little fuckers in that third Resident Evil movie. I even considered running it through with one of my adored knifes. But I thought better of it. Normally, when woken up abruptly, you don't tend to think much through.

I took a few calming breaths and then brushed it off. All the while I could hear the annoying knocking sound. I shooed the bird and turned my back on it. Then, I slipped out of the flimsy, worn t-shirt I still use as PJs and walked over to the bathroom for a nice shower. About 20 minutes later, I pulled back the shower curtain to step out and grab my towel when I saw the same effing crow perched on the towel hanger. I don't know how I managed to keep that scream in. I tried waving my hand at it. It didn't budge.

I was beginning to ponder how the hell it had gotten in when I realised I was still stark naked. I didn't know why it bothered me to be naked in front of a bird but I couldn't help thinking it was a very perverted winged bastard. Tentatively, I stretched out my arm towards the towel and slowly pulled it towards me. The bird didn't move. So I wrapped the towel safely around myself and moved swiftly across the room towards the door and opened it. Then, I moved again, and opened the bathroom window. Then, I grabbed the hand towel and cracked it like a whip. This feathery "little" fucker didn't even blink.

I was just about to scream for help when Elena walked into the room, already dressed for school.

"Well, you're up ear-" she didn't even finish the phrase before she saw the crow a few meters away from me. "How did that get in here?" I had no idea why she was so frightened.

"That's exactly what I wanted to know." Elena looked at it. Straight in the eye.

"Get out. Now." the crow merely cocked its head as if challenging her to do something. Elena turned to me. "Where do you keep your sais?" I huffed.

"One, its _Sai,_ not sais. Two, it's a bird. Can't we just shoo it?" Elena glared. "I'm not going to kill a bird!" I finished.

"This thing's not just a bird, it's a... menace!" at this, the bird ruffled its feathers and let out what sounded like a laugh. But then again, that wasn't possible. Right? Elena grabbed my arm and pushed me out of the bathroom, not before whispering something to the crow.

"Stay away from her or I'm telling Stefan!" or that's what it sounded like.

"Did you just talk to the bird?" She shrugged.

"It was more like cursing at it." The same "laughing" sound came from the bird but it finally leapt of the hanger and flew over to my open bedroom window. Weird. I didn't remember opening the window. There it cawed and flew out. _'That is one strange bird.'_ I thought. Elena sighed, looking out the window.

"Don't ever let it in again."

"I didn't!" I said. "One minute it was knocking its head against the window and the next I saw it as I came out of the shower stall! That is one perverted bird..." Elena turned to look at me.

"You mean it saw you..."

"Naked?" I asked. "Yeah." The look of horror on her face was beyond comprehension. But, at this point, I was beginning to get used to the utter weirdness which seemed to have befallen Mystic Falls. I mean, I felt strange but what could a bird find so interesting in a naked girl? "What's the deal with that bird anyway?" I said.

"It has been known to... bite." I laughed.

"Birds don't bite. They can't. You need teeth to bite." Elena glared at me in annoyance.

"You know what I mean, smartass." I nodded. "Anyway, as I was saying, you're up early." I looked at the clock. It was 7.50 am.

"Does that mean you're late?" Elena's eyes widened at she realised the time.

"Oh my God, I'm late!" she dashed out of the room as she was screaming this. "I'll see you after school!"

"Remember to tell the girls we're going out after school!" I yelled back. I heard a faint "okay" as the house door shut. I shook my head and turned to dress.

After throwing on some snug workout pants, a sports bra, a long-sleeved T and my favourite trainers, I went down for some much needed breakfast. Once in the kitchen, I found a note taped to the fridge: 'Self-service kitchen. You know where everything is. I won't be back till 9 pm so you can order something for dinner if you want.'

"Thanks Jenna." I said out loud. Some pancakes sounded good. And then, hi-ho, hi-ho off to the forest I go.

I had been walking for an hour now and the light was perfect. I took out my camera and started with a few snap-shots of my green surroundings. I dropped my back-pack by the roots of a tree and started wandering a little for something good for a close up. I could hear running water. A few trees later I found a small stream. Perfect. I took a few pictures. A couple hours passed and I suddenly remembered that I had a double workout session pending. I pulled out my sai and their leg holders. Strapping them around my thighs I grabbed the bag and climbed as high as I could on the tree beside me. Once sure it was safe from any wandering strangers, I left for my impending workout.

I looked at my watch and timed it for a 30 minute jog. Running always made me feel free, it gave me a boost to keep fighting. And fighting was exactly what I had in mind. I finished the jog and returned to "my" tree, getting my bag down on the ground again and started warming up. Sit-ups, push-ups, stretching, the works. Then, I stood up and pulled out my sai. I spent the next couple hours going over all the moves, kicks and jabs I'd ever learned. As you might have noticed, I was not into too healthy eating, so any exercise I could get was always welcome. By the end of the third hour I had already sweated through the t-shirt and so I had simply pulled it off.

As the light tilted, I headed back to my bag and pulled out the towel and water bottle I had packed. Then came the sandwich, apple, coke and chocolate I had brought as lunch. See what I meant about healthy eating? I looked at my watch, it was well nearing 3 o'clock already.

I heard a foot crunching the fallen leaves somewhere behind me. The noise stopped me inches away from my first bite. I dropped the apple back into the bag and felt my right leg for my knife and pulled it out. Then I turned and stood as fast as I could.

"Has no one told you that it's dangerous to walk alone in the forest?" standing there, leaning calmly against a tree, was Damon Salvatore. The man was a vision: black boots, snugly fitting jeans, tight black t-shirt and leather jacket. I turned back to my bag in an attempt to collect myself, putting away my sai, and continuing to dry myself off.

"Yes. But I have a penchant for all things banned." I heard his chuckle as if he was just over my shoulder. I turned again. He wasn't farther than a couple of feet away. I couldn't understand how I hadn't heard him move.

"That's a dangerous thing to say to a guy you barely know." I suppressed a shiver.

"Depends on the guy." I turned back around to grab my apple. Finally sinking my teeth into the juicy fruit I let out a sigh of content.

"Hungry?" I nodded and swallowed.

"Yes, and it's particularly good. But I have a feeling that the last thing you want to talk about is food." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him leaning against "my" tree.

"You're right. I was pleasantly surprised when I bumped into you last night. I've never seen you around before." I snorted softly.

"One, I'm pretty sure I crashed into you. Sorry. Two, I haven't been around for years." He smiled.

"Don't apologise. I'm not sorry you did. So you're new in town?" I half-nodded half-shrugged, taking another bite of my apple. "Where do you come from?"

"New York. My dad works in the Greek embassy there."

"So you're Greek. Interesting."

"Half-Greek. My dearest mother's... well, my mother's family is gypsy, but they've lived in Peru for a while now."

"Clearly a fine mix." I smirked at him. The guy clearly knew his way around women.

"So, where do _you_ come from, Mr. Salvatore?" he lifted his eyebrows.

"You know who I am."

"I do."

"I'm afraid I'm at a disadvantage. I'm yet to hear what name would make such a sight justice." _'Sweetie, keep talking old-fashioned to me with that voice and those eyes and you can call me Lassie for all I care...'_

"I'm not sure I should tell you. Elena's already warned me against you." _'Why do I have to flirt with the guy I've already been warned against?'_ I thought, leaning back against the tree beside him. Then I realised he might be simply playing with me since he was right next to me when my mother screamed my name on the phone last night

Damon chuckled. He leaned down to my ear.

"I thought you said you had a penchant for all things banned..." he whispered softly. I couldn't help closing my eyes at the feeling, nor the shiver that ran down my spine. He pulled back and looked at me.

"So what if I like to play with fire?" I asked.

"There's nothing wrong with that. Danger is the best way to live." I chuckled.

"Maybe not necessarily danger, but it is the thrill of the moment which makes you feel alive." He smiled at me again. Then, his smile turned to a smirk.

"And what is it that thrills you, Miss Natchios?" I smirked. Knew it.

"So you did hear my adorable mother screaming my name to the entire world over the phone last night." He smirked. "And I haven't known a good thrill in a while. I was good while I was running away from my mother but now that that's accomplished... I don't know... to be honest I feel kind of lost..."

Damon looked at me as if he was seeing me for the first time. Those blue eyes I have loved from the very first looked deep into mine, as if he was trying to understand me with one single look. I looked into his, for a moment desperate to have something to hold on to. To know that I wasn't the only one who felt as lost. I had never told any one that I was feeling lost. So why was I telling him?

The answer seemed to flash in his eyes a moment later. It was there for less than a blink, but it was there: he was feeling as lost as I was. I don't think I've ever felt a connection as strong with anybody. Suddenly, the moment was cut short and the bubble was burst as a crow cawed over head and came to stand on Damon's shoulder. This wasn't the one from my bathroom. This one was of a more normal size. But it still made me jump.

"Don't worry. This guy's been following me around since I got to Mystic Falls." He said calmly.

"Yeah, well, I have one that was watching me shower earlier this morning. Only that one was _huge_." He smirked.

"Lucky bird." I snorted softly, yet good-humouredly, rolling my eyes. "Crows are widely misunderstood. Everybody thinks that, because of their dark colour and bad reputation, they're bad omens. But they're not that bad. They're even... appealing. If one likes black." I smiled. Turns out Mr. Bad Boy could be cute as a button. Fancy that.

"I guess they're not that bad. But I have to admit I'm more of a cat person." He nodded. Suddenly, my phone rang.

"Yeah?"

"Hey! Where do you want to meet?" it was Elena. I had completely forgotten I was supposed to meet up with her.

"Oh! Hi. Um..."

"You haven't forgotten, have you? Where are you?"

"I.." I looked at Damon. He was staring at me with an interest that bordered on tenderness. He lifted his hand and put it over the speaker.

"Tell her you're on your way. To tell you where to meet." He whispered. I nodded.

"No, I haven't forgotten, you just caught me a little off guard. Tell me where to meet you and I'll be there in 30. Roundabout. I still have to shower."

"Again?"

"Hey! I had a bit of a workout session! Do you want me driving around town all sweaty? Yuck!"

Elena laughed and gave me an address to a new coffee shop and we said our goodbyes. I turned to Damon.

"I'm so sorry. I totally forgot about that." I said dropping to a crouch to put everything back in my bag. Turning to him I was about to say good bye when he stretched out his hand to help me up.

"You want me to help you with that bag? It's not safe in the woods, you know. Take it from me."

"If you insist."

In a few minutes, we finished our silent walk. I don't think I've ever felt this comfortable with someone. Upon reaching the house, I fished out my keys and walked over to the door.

"You want to come in?" I asked over my shoulder as I walked in.

"Sure. But I thought you were going to shower."

"I am. But I don't take _that_ long and it would be rude of me to leave you out like that."

Damon chuckled and went up to my room with me. I grabbed some underwear and went in to shower. Over the next 10 minutes we kept talking, or rather shouting, over the sound of the water. We talked about everything and anything. My mom, his life, my future and some of his past. As I walked out, wearing my underwear and bathrobe, I found him lying on my bed, shoes and jacket off, looking through the pictures I had taken this morning. Yum.

"These are really good." I smiled and carried on searching for something to wear.

"Ok. Jeans." I murmured, pulling a pair out of my closet. "Off-the-shoulder shirt..." and out of the drawer came one with burgundy flowers and a brown and green pattern. "Matching scarf." I finished. Pulling on the jeans under the bathrobe and discarding it to pull on the T-shirt I went over to my closet for some boots, socks in hand.

"I like your style. Very bohemian." I chuckled.

"That's the idea." Suddenly, I felt him right behind me, wrapping his arms around me and resting his chin on my shoulder. I fought off the shiver, while trying to decide what shoes to wear. "Can I finish getting dressed?" he chuckled letting go off me.

A few minutes later, teeth brushed, hair slightly damp and a little make up on, we walked out of the house and walked over to my car. My baby, a blood red SUV. I took off the alarm and Damon held the door open for me. I threw my purse on the back seat and turned around.

"How gentlemanly of you, Mr. Salvatore." I commented with a smirk.

"I try." Then I thought of something. Amazing really, considering the fact that, right now, I was trapped between him and the inner side of the car door.

"You need a ride?" Damon smirked, coming closer. There was barely an inch between us.

"Desperately." I smiled deviously.

"I meant if you needed to get anywhere, smartass." he chuckled and his warm breath hit my exposed clavicle. I shivered slightly, and was about to say something else when I felt my phone buzzing in the front pocket of my jeans. By now, Damon could feel it too. He sighed.

"Go. Pretend you got lost or something. If you say you were with me she'll never let you out again." he said, half joking, half serious. I laughed a bit.

"A) she's not my mom. She can't tell me what to do or who to see. Hell, my own mother can't do that. B) Are you worried she'll never let me out again?" I asked him coyly with a small pout. Damon smiled.

"A) good for you. B) Yes. I am worried. I don't recall feeling this comfortable with anyone in a very long time." I nearly melted at the look in his eyes. He obviously wasn't used to opening up to people. But he had been completely honest with me.

"You may not recall it, but I just know I've never felt this at ease before. So don't worry. You'll be my dirty little secret." I finished with a small smirk. He smiled again.

"Looking forward to it." He stated, backing off a few steps so I could get into my car. I laughed out loud and turned on the engine, closing the door. He tapped on my window and I lowered it. "Do I at least get a phone number?" I laughed and we exchanged phone numbers.

"Well, then, until some other time, Mr. Salvatore." He leaned in through the window and gave me a small kiss on the very corner of my mouth.

"Goodbye, Miss Natchios." _'Goddess I love that sweet, sexy voice.'_

I couldn't recall ever feeling this giddy. By the time I got to the cafe, Elena was super worried, Bonnie was super happy, and Caroline was super excited. But then again, she always is.

"Where the hell were you?!" Elena nearly screamed, strangling me with a hug.

"I was out in the forest. I lost track of time, that's all." She looked at me suspiciously.

"So, you didn't meet up with anyone, or anything?" _'Thank Goddess I'm a decent actress.'_ I thought at that moment.

"No. It was just me, my camera and the trees. And what ever little animal scurries across the aforementioned trees at this time of the day." Elena let it go. I guess she was just happy enough that I was there and safe.

After that, Bonnie and Caroline hugged the living daylights out of me and it went pretty much the same as last night. Catching up, girl-talk, you know, the usual. What have you been doing? Where have you been? OMG I can't believe it. When I told then I'd finally broken free there was a stereo-like 'good for you!' squeal. It was fun. Like the good ol' days. I missed it here.

It wasn't until a few hours, later, the cafe was getting ready to close for the night, and we were saying our goodbyes, since the ladies had school the next day that I felt my phone buzz with a new message. I pulled it out. It was from Damon.

'_Did she give you a hard time?'_ I smiled, walking over to my car. Elena would be leaving in hers. I quickly pulled out the Bluetooth earpiece and made the call. Safer than driving while texting.

"Good evening Miss Natchios." I smiled.

"Good evening Mr. Salvatore."

"So, did your dearest friend give you a hard time?" I laughed.

"Nope. Although I have to admit she was a bit suspicious. She even asked if I had met up with anyone or anything."

"And your answer was...?"

"Oh, of course I told her I had met you and we had fallen in love and we had had hot, passionate sex in the middle of the woods." I said sarcastically. Damon laughed.

"Wouldn't you want to." I laughed, while thinking how true that was.

"You seem to have a very high opinion of yourself, Mr. Salvatore."

"I do. I'm hot, not my fault. But are you going to keep calling me Mr. Salvatore? It makes me feel old!" he whined.

"Hmm... I'll make you a deal. I'll stop calling you Mr. Salvatore the day we have hot passionate sex."

"Even if it isn't in the middle of the woods?" I chuckled.

"Somehow I don't think that would be too comfortable." he chuckled.

"Deal." I could nearly hear the smirk spreading across his gorgeous face.

"Knew you wouldn't resist." He laughed.

"What are you doing tonight?" that caught me slightly off guard. I was on my way back to Elena's house, but I could always call and say I'd be late.

"Nothing."

"Would you like to do something?"

"Ok."

"What?"

"No idea." I said.

"Fancy a chance to stop calling me Mr. Salvatore?" I laughed.

"What kind of girl do you take me for?" I answered mockingly. He huffed.

"Where are you?"

"Few blocks away from Elena's house."

"Alright. Meet me at the Mystic Grill. We'll figure something out." I grinned.

"Deal. See you in a few." And now, to tell Elena I wouldn't be coming home tonight. LOL.

"Why aren't you coming straight back?" it was easy to know what was going through her mind at the moment. Sure, she was walked worried about me. But that was all she could do.

"Because I'm going out."

"You are being evasive. Who are you going out with?"

"What makes you think I'm going out with someone?"

"You can't be going out alone!?"

"Why not? Try it. You go out and get yourself a date while out! It's fun!" I threw back at her with a slight sarcasm.

"You never do that. Admit it. You're going to meet with Damon Salvatore." I groaned.

"Elena, I love you. But if you don't trust me, that's just not my problem. I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. And even if I can't, that's something I'll have to deal with. Not you. Now go to sleep. You have school tomorrow. Remember to tell Jenna not to freak out and that I'll be home late." With that, I ended the call. I had been perfectly serious about what I had told her. I was ready to cope with my own responsibilities, I didn't need anybody worrying exaggeratedly about me, and what ever happened to me, at my own risk, was my problem. Not everybody else's.

By the time I got to the Mystic Grill, it was already emptying. It was, after all, a Monday night. I went in, craning my neck to find Damon.

"Looking for me?" said an unknown voice behind me. I turned to see a dark haired, dark eyed guy. He had a football shirt on and looked every inch the high school jock. Not my type. To name a couple of reasons: too young, hence too immature AND obviously too egocentric to breathe around.

"Doubt it." I said and turned back to the task at hand. Unfortunately, this guy stubborn and more than likely a bit drunk for he grabbed my shoulder and tried to turn me back to him.

"Hey. I'm Tyler Lockwood. Can I buy you a drink?" He stated who he was as though I was supposed to bow to him or something. I mean, sure, he was the mayor's son, I know that surname very well. But I was the daughter of the chargé d'affaires of the Greek Embassy in the US of A. If we're talking rank here, I was way out of his league. I can only imagine the bored look on my face.

"Hi. I don't care who you are. And no, you can't buy me a drink." This obviously pissed him off, but I can't really say that wasn't my intention.

"I'm the mayor's son."

"And my father is the deputy head of mission of the Greek Embassy in this country." That shut him up. He either knew what that meant and was impressed, or he didn't and was too stupid or too drunk to fully process what I had just said. _'And the answer is...'_

"I can still buy you a drink." _'...too drunk AND too stupid.'_ I thought. How many times do you need to blow a guy off?

"Sorry kid, that's my job." I could've done a happy dance at the time. This Lockwood kid was getting on my nerves.

"Well, hello Mr. Salvatore." He winked in recognition.

"Salvatore." Tyler spit out Damon's name as if it was venom. Ugh, cock fight.

"Lockwood. Now, if you'll excuse me, this young lady needs entertaining and you're just not up to the task. Scoot."

I laughed as Damon wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me towards his table. This would be the perfect moment to start playing "I've Got A Feeling."...

**NEW A/N: **Sorry this isn't an update, but I didn't notice I let Sophia use Damon's first name instead of his surname. Just correcting that. The aforementioned deal won't happen... yet. Hehehe! Enjoy!

**OLD A/N:**

To all my cherished readers, I'm so sorry for the delay. I was beginning a new fic while trying to continue this one and the ideas were coming slowly. Anyways, I'm trying to make Damon as Damon as possible, but I still plan on bringing out that cute side we all know/hope he has. So stay with me, I beg of you. I want to take this relationship slowly, because that's what makes any measure of sexual tension worth the while, or so I believe.

Reviews, comments and CONSTRUCTIVE criticism are always welcome. _I want you all to tell me if this is what you want for this fic._ _It's yours as much as it is mine._ Please keep in mind that I have a poor self-esteem and your reviews do wonders for it. So be kind, lol. Anyway, I hope you like it, and I will be getting to work on the next chapter asap!

I love you all!

Toodles!


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

"So, you'll be providing the entertainment tonight?" Damon smirked at me, pulling out my chair.

"Let's just say you'll be begging for a next date." I smirked, sitting down.

"Oh, so this is a date now?" Damon leaned into my ear, both hands still on the back of my chair.

"Do you know what makes a date a date?" I closed my eyes.

"Enlighten me."

"The goodnight kiss. So don't worry, I'll make this a date." He whispered, kissing my neck lightly. I shivered as he pulled away and sat down himself.

"Well, before I loose the ability to speak coherently then, I'll try to get as much out of you as possible." Damon chuckled. But there was a thinly veiled melancholy in his laugh. The only reason why I recognised it was because I knew all about melancholy myself.

"There's not really much to know. I'm just a regular guy."

"At risk of sounding desperate I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that a regular guy doesn't look that good. Come on, give a little here. You know quite a bit about my family drama. And I've heard some things from Elena, but I want your side of the story."

"You really want to do the awkward ex conversation now?" he asked. He obviously didn't.

"Better get all the dirty laundry out in the open before this gets too complicated, don't you think?" Damon smiled a sad smile.

"Yeah well, I've got a very high stack of dry-cleaning bills, in that case. You don't really want to hear about it."

"Actually, yeah I do. I need to know my life could've been worse." I countered with a small laugh. I managed to get a real smile out of him.

"Ask away."

"Alright, I'll go for the kill then. I've heard quite a good deal about a girl named Katherine and a rather hardcore brothers' feud. Spill."

"Should've known." He mumbled with a groan. "Alright. Years ago, my brother, Stefan, and I met a girl named Katherine. She... umm, she played us. Both." Uh oh.

"At the same time?!" I couldn't believe this bitch! For one thing, Damon was enough for any woman. And for another... "You're brothers! That bitch!" I didn't know whether or not I was insulting her memory but the horrified look on my face made Damon chuckle. Albeit sadly.

"At the same time." He nodded. "The worst part was... we knew. We knew that the night's she wasn't with one of us, she was with the other. And we couldn't do anything. We were under a... spell. Before Katherine, we were the best of brothers. But she's been an issue between us ever since."

"Where is she right now?" I wondered with a growl.

"Why?" he didn't seem as down anymore. If the small smile on his face was any indication, he was curious.

"Because unless the bitch is already dead, I'm gonna kill her!" Damon laughed freely again. It made me feel a little better.

"Relax, she's already dead. She died in an accident what seems ages ago." I huffed.

"Coward." He laughed at my pouting face.

"Alright, what's next?" I smiled. This guy knew me already.

"Well, why are you still mad at Stefan?" he frowned, deep in thought.

"Hmm... I don't think I've ever given it much thought. I don't want to end up with Stefan's brooding forehead because of it. I guess it's just fun to piss him off. It's so easy!" that was more like the Damon I was falling for! I laughed.

"But don't you miss him?" the melancholy came back.

"I guess I do. We used to have so much fun together. We were kind of best friends, played ball, hanging out all the time. A few days ago we had a bit of a bonding time and it felt good. Like we were back in those days. Well, not quite but..." he finished with a funny face. I smiled.

"How long ago was this though? You're not that old and Stefan's... how many years are there between you?" Damon chuckled.

"A while ago. Stefan's 17, I'm 25." (1) I nodded. Something didn't really add up but if he didn't want to tell me, then I wasn't going to push him. Then, the metaphorical light bulb lit up.

"Why don't you try to make things right again. If this Katherine chick's gone... why not try to get things back to the way they were?"

"Could be. But Stefan doesn't trust me like that anymore. He'll think it's just another scheme to make his life miserable. Not that it isn't already what with Elena leaving him..."

"Do you know why that happened?" he nodded.

"Katherine." Figures. "She looked _a lot_ like Elena. And Elena happened to find an old picture of her the other day."

"Oh."

"Yeah." He nodded, widening his eyes slightly to make his point. "Although it is a ridiculous reaction since Stefan is not the kind of guy who would do that. I'm more likely to do that than him."

"Would you?" at that moment, his gaze snapped straight into my eyes.

"Not anymore." The warmth in his eyes made me flush. They screamed honesty. I couldn't get another word out. He reached out to hold the hand I had resting on the table. I looked at our hands, felt the warmth of his skin, felt safe.

"You guys want to order anything?" I could've bitten the waitress's head off.

"I'll have another cup of coffee." Damon said. (2)

"I'll have a chocolate milkshake please." I knew it was childish but they were my drug. Well, chocolate was.

"Chocolate milkshake?" Damon mocked after the girl had left.

"What? They're yummy!"

"Aww. You want your yummy milkshake?" he asked in fake baby voice.

"Oh, shut up." Damon laughed. Then, my mental light bulb turned back on. "Why don't you get Stefan and Elena back together?" Damon stared on.

"Huh?"

"You want to straighten things out with Stefan, right?" he nodded with a non-committal shrug. "You do and you know it. Anyways, then, explain to Elena what you just told me and get them back together!" Damon looked at me as if I'd just invented gravity.

"Why didn't I think of that before?" I smirked.

"Because girls are smarter." He made a face. Then he frowned again.

"Well, I see a small problem with your genius plan."

"What?"

"Elena doesn't trust me. She's more likely to trust Katherine than me."

"And that's saying something." He nodded. "But why shouldn't she? I mean, I know she's been cursing you to the depths of hell but this couldn't be harmful to anyone! It's not like you'd gt anything from helping out. Would you?"

"I don't think so, but Stefan's filled her head with what an SOB I am so I doubt she'll think it through rationally."

"Isn't she mad at Stefan? And, in any case, try getting Stefan on your side!" he threw me a bored/annoyed look.

"And how the hell do you plan to do that?"

"You said you'd had a bonding time a few days ago! Have another one! Though, it'd be better if it was spontaneous. Planned bonding times don't usually work out." He laughed.

"And when are we going to talk about you?" I smiled guiltily. "I've told you enough. Now, give a little."

"Fine. Hit me." He smirked widely.

"Who would've known you were into kinky stuff." I scoffed.

"Bite me."(3) At that moment, his eyes darkened, and he leaned over to my ear.

"Just say where..." his voice was husky and his lips moist against my earlobe. I held back a gasp. But just barely. Then, our orders arrived.

"Enjoy." The waitress said, staring solely at Damon. But Damon was looking deep into my eyes.

"Oh, we will."

"Maybe I shouldn't have had that second milkshake." Damon chuckled with mirth as we exited the Grill a little passed midnight.

"You think?" I glared at him.

"Not because of the fat! If you haven't noticed already, I don't care about those things." Damon nodded with an amused look on his face.

"Yeah, I noticed alright."

"You do know that chocolate's an aphrodisiac right?" Damon's eyes darkened and he smirked.

"Well, in that case, I don't see any problem." I shivered, but rubbed my arms to pretend it was because of the cold. I still don't know if he fell for it or if he was playing along. Either way, he gathered me in his arms and nuzzled my neck, as he leaned against my car.

"You want me to warm you up?" I chuckled darkly, and nearly nodded. Nearly. And then, my phone started buzzing.

"Oh, fuck it!" I whispered. Still trapped in Damon's arms, I turned, facing away from him and looked at the caller ID. "Double fuck it."

"Your mom." It wasn't a question. I nodded, but answered anyway.

"What do you want now?" Damon held back a chuckle.

"I have decided." I waited for any other clue as to her latest insanity but apparently she was trying to make a dramatic announcement.

"Mom?"

"Oh, yes." The old mad-hatter was officially losing it. "I've decided I'll find you someone to marry before the season is over." At this point, I turned to Damon to see if he had heard her whacked answer. His face was contorted between horror and laughter.

"You'll do WHAT?!"

"I've come to the conclusion that this is the only way for you to come to terms with my unquestionable authority." I was somewhere between crying in frustration or laughing at the woman's sheer insanity. In the end, I simply sighed.

"Mom, tell you what, do what ever you want. It's not going to make any difference. Because believe it or not, you can't make me do anything anymore and it'll be hard as hell for you to find someone willing to get their child into an arranged marriage where you'll be the mother-in-law. So shut up and go ruin someone else's life."

"You're flippant comments won't deter me Sophia. I'll call you as soon as I find someone suitable."

"Bye!" I said in sarcastic chirpiness at the sound of my mother ending the call.

"You think she'll be able to find someone?" I groaned.

"I don't know. Politics is as unfathomable as my mother's whims sometimes. And my mother has been known for accomplishing the impossible. So, to answer your question Mr. Salvatore, I really don't know." He chuckled.

"Then we'll just have to be on the look out. I never really learned to share." He said with a smirk. I smiled. Those simple words had reassured me as little else could've. He wouldn't give up on me that easy. I turned back to face him, enjoying the safety of his arms.

"Thank you."

"For?" I could feel his lips against my hair.

"For driving away the monsters under my bed." Sometimes the most childish of references help convey one's meaning better than the most literate and schooled of speeches. From the way his arms tightened around my waist and back, and from the soft kiss he dropped on the top of my head, I knew he had understood.

"What else would you like to do?" I smiled, pulling away.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that Elena's gonna be waiting up for me." He nodded.

"Well then, off we go." I stared at him.

"Haven't you got a car?"

"No, left it at home."

"You want me to drop you off?" he shook his head.

"Don't worry about me. I'll see you to your door."

"How gentlemanly sir, but I think you should be more worried than me. I've got a car, you don't."

"You never know what's lurking out in the night."

"Exactly."

"Which is why I'd like to see you safely home." I smirked.

"I'm a big girl remember?" he dragged his eyes all over me and nodded appreciatively.

"Oh I remember." I slapped his arm playfully.

"I can take care of myself."

"Perhaps, my little gypsy ninja, but allow me to wallow in worry. Now jump in the car and let's get you home." I smiled at the nickname.

I also knew I wouldn't convince him so I huffed, still smiling, and got in the car as he held open my door. Pushing it close, he went around and got in, strapping himself in.

"How long are you here for?" the question caught me off guard.

"What?" he turned away from the window to look at me.

"How long are you staying in Mystic Falls?"

"Oh. For about a month. Then I'm off to Greece to visit some family and from there... it's a mystery." I ended with a chuckle.

"A month?" I glanced over at him. Underneath the surprise, was just a hint of disappointment.

"If I stay any longer I risk my mother catching up with me. It's only a matter of time before she calls Jenna to check I'm not here. She's whacked, not stupid. And Jenna's not that great a liar either."

"But can't you stay in the States for a while longer? I get tired of this town every once in a while. Ever been on a road trip?" I laughed lightly.

"Actually, no I haven't."

"Well there you go! Can't leave this country without going on a road trip. Salvatore style, of course."

"Does it include a specially made map and choice music?" I asked with a smile.

"You've watched Elizabethtown one too many times." He said with a smirk. "A) I don't need a map and you'll be going with me so no need for one, special or otherwise." I pouted though I was cracking up on the inside. "B) Something tells me we have very different taste in music."

I finally laughed.

"Alright then, I'll stay for the road trip." Damon looked at me, frowning slightly.

"You are honestly scared of your mother finding you." Again, this wasn't a question. I only nodded. I hated admitting it, but with Damon everything seemed so easy. I didn't need to be the tough girl anymore. At this point, I pulled up at the Gilberts' drive way. Damon got me out of my seatbelt and pulled me onto his lap, holding me close. "Don't worry. I'll always be here to drive away the monsters from under your bed."

The care, the promise, the indiscernible something in his voice that swore to keep me safe brought tears to my eyes. Damon was looking more and more like a knight in shining armour than the big bad wolf Elena had painted him as. I always said I was strong, a big girl, that nothing could touch me. But the harsh words I had suffered from my mother throughout a not particularly happy childhood had dug deep scars into my heart and my mind wasn't as fortified as I made people believe. But when I looked into Damon's eyes, sitting on his lap in my car, desperately trying to hold in the tears of a ragged and seemingly distant childhood, I felt as if, one not so distant day I could be as strong as I wanted to be.

"Thank you." Was all I could manage, trying to wipe away the unshed tears.

"Hey. Don't shy away from me. I know everything about overbearing parents. My parents also wanted to marry me off to some unknown girl. Or at least they planned to. I did everything possible to make the girl hate me. In the end, her father called off the deal." I laughed, looking at him curiously. Now this I didn't know about.

"And your parents?"

"They moved to Italy with some family, but they died a while ago. We have little to no family left, Stefan and I."

"I'm sorry." He shrugged.

"It all seems so long ago now. What is it they say? Time's a great healer?" I nodded with a smile.

Suddenly, I saw a light turn on in one of the second floor windows. Thank what ever high power is up at this time of night for tinted windows.

"Uh oh. I told you she'd be waiting up." Damon smirked.

"And I remember I promised you a goodnight kiss." I smirked slightly.

"I believe you did."

The arm he had around my waist tightened its grasp and I was flush against him, straddling him. A hand behind my neck pulled me closer and suddenly, his lips were on mine. Soft, gentle, slightly cool lips that were making colourful lights blow up behind my closed eyelids. These weren't just fireworks. These were more like what ever the Weasley twins invented in the fifth Harry Potter movie(4). His tongue ran across my bottom lip and I gasped in response, allowing him the entrance he was demanding. I don't think I've ever been as lost in a kiss before. He ravaged my mouth to the last crevice. His hand had long left my waist and was leisurely exploring all there was to be explored. To say I was moaning would be a bit of an understatement.

The only reason why I pulled away from that safe yet mind-blowing haven was because I was about to turn blue. I gasped in a breath, trying to pull myself together and rearrange the clothes that had been crumpled. Thankfully I had already turned off the car and pulled the brakes. Who knows were we could've ended up in with the car still on? I chuckled.

"You need to go." He whispered. I stared. "I think I heard someone moving inside the house."

"Well that's one hell of a hearing Mr. Salvatore. But, just in case, I'll take your word for it." And with a shorter goodbye kiss, he helped me back to my seat on the driver's side and we both hopped out of the car. I grabbed my bag, locked my baby and went around it to the door. Swiftly, Damon pulled be back behind the car, away from the view of any window, trapped me between him and the side of the trunk and proceeded to kiss the living daylights out of me again.

"You're rather addictive you know?" he whispered against my lips as I gasped another breath. I giggled helplessly as he placed soft, open-mouthed kisses on my neck.

"It's the chocolate. Then again, I could say much more about you, Mr. Salvatore, but I don't want to waste time inflating an already too big ego." He pouted slightly, working his way back to my mouth.

"Sophie? What are you waiting for? Come on in!" Elena's voice from the front door made us jump. Damon dropped to a crouch, dragging me with him. I held in my laughter.

"Just picking up the keys I so stupidly dropped, E! I'll be right in."

"Well come on, I'm freezing." I thought she was exaggerating, it really wasn't as cold. But then again, I'd just been making out with the hottest guy on the face of the earth so she might've been right.

"Alright, got 'em." I dropped a short kiss on Damon's lips. "See you around."

"You can bet your cute little ass you will." He said with a smirk. I smirked as well then stood up and over to the door, keys in hand.

"Hi!" I said, giddy as hell.

"It's one in the morning, Sophie!"

"Exactly. Shouldn't you be asleep?" she huffed, letting me and leaving me to close the door as she walked back to her room.

"See you in the morning."

"Goodnight E." As I turned to close the door I could see Damon looking back at me from under a street light. He bowed with a smirk. I bowed back to him and blew him a kiss. He mimicked catching it and holding it to his heart. I tried not to laugh. I took one last look and closed the door. Now this is what I call a perfect evening.

The next morning, I woke up the giddiest I remember. And surprisingly early for having gone to bed at 1 in the morning. Draping on my robe, I made my way down to breakfast, where the rest of my house-mates (LOL) were getting fuelled to start the day.

"What's up with the silly smile?" Jenna smirked at me.

"Silly? More like completely idiotic!" I glared at Jeremy.

"Gee, thanks Jere, I know I can always count on you." He shrugged with a smile and carried on with his cereal.

"Can you please answer my question?" I smiled at Jenna.

"I just had a great night." Elena shook her head with a half-smirk.

"With Damon Salvatore?" Jenna gasped.

"Stefan's brother?"(5)

"Is there another one?" I asked sarcastically.

"God, let's hope not!" Jenna and I turned to look at Elena as if she had lost her mind.

"Yes let's hope so! I want one of those!" Jenna stated. Elena scoffed.

"Why is everyone so entranced by Damon Salvatore?!" Jenna and I shared a look.

"He's HOT!" we exclaimed.

"And a fantastic kisser." I added without thinking. So much for him being my 'dirty little secret'. Jenna turned to me with a squeal.

"No you didn't!"

"Yes I did!"

"Oh my GOD! What was it like?" I huffed.

"What part of _fantastic_ didn't you get?" Jenna and I started squealing again.

"Wait, you kissed him?!" we turned to Elena.

"Yeah." I nodded in a 'duh' tone. "Well, technically, he kissed me, but who cares about technicalities?" I added smugly. Elena scoffed.

"You haven't known each other for more than 24 hours!"

"So?"

"SO, you should be taking this a bit more slowly!"

"Where's the fun in that?" she huffed.

"I just don't want you to get hurt." I looked at her.

"Relax, Lenny. I know how to take care of myself." Elena looked as if she had something to say about that, but for some reason held her tongue. "Can I have breakfast now?" she was about to nod, when someone knocked on the door.

"Jere, can you please take it? You're the only one who's dressed." With a good-natured sigh, Jeremy rose to open the door. I went over to get a cup of coffee when I heard Jeremy.

"Hi."

"Hey. Sophia up?" I smiled my stupid smile. How he knew I'd be up by now escaped me entirely. But before I could even get up, Elena was already at the door, dragging Damon out and shutting the door behind her. I groaned. I really didn't need mothering right now. I briskly walked towards the door and was out before Elena had finished her first sentence.

"-way from her!" I cleared my throat. She turned to me. "Get back in the house." I lifted an eyebrow.

"You really think that's gonna happen?"

"Sophia, you don't know him."

"Which is why I want to..." she glared. But I could see Damon's smile.

"You don't know what he's done. What he's like."

"He hasn't tried to kill me and if he does anything to hurt me in any way-"

"Which, won't happen." Damon put in at this point.

"I will kick his ass myself."

"And I will allow said ass to be kicked." I smiled at him.

"Can you please trust me on this one?" Elena was practically begging. I sighed.

"Lena, I do trust you. And you know it. But I also happen to trust him." The look on Damon's face told me that it had been ages since anyone had trusted him. "So could _you_ please trust _me_ on this one? You do trust my judgement, don't you?" Elena sighed this time.

"Yes, I do. But it'll take him a lot more than your judgement before I can either trust him or approve of this." I nodded.

"Fair enough. Now stop mothering me. You know, more than anyone, how I hate it." A small smile appeared in Elena's face.

"Ok. Sorry." I nodded. Then, not so subtly nudged at her to get her butt inside so I could talk to Damon. She nodded with a smiling huff. And after a small glare at Damon, she disappeared into the house and the door shut.

"Sorry about that." He shook his head.

"No problem. She's worried about you. I suppose that, given the reputation I've worked so hard for, I would be too." He said. There was something strange about his way of saying that. He was sarcastic and playful as he had been so far, but it was as if he was trying to make me understand that perhaps he wasn't to be trusted. _'Oh well, too late.'_ I thought.

"What are you doing here so early?" he smirked.

"Tired of me already?" I laughed.

"Oh, it's going to take a lot more than that for me to get tired of you." At this point, Damon leaned in close.

"Well, I don't know tired OF me, but I do know how you can be tired BECAUSE of me." I shivered as his breath hit my neck, chuckling.

"Patience is a virtue, Mr. Salvatore. But what do you propose for today?"

"Well, I got a kick out of watching you work out yesterday..." he left the phrase hanging in the air with a smug smile. I snorted softly.

"Not likely."

"Oh, well, you can't blame a guy for trying. But you are going to have to burn those chocolate milkshakes from last night at some point." I groaned.

"Ugh, wipe that smugness off your face. It's true but don't think I'm gonna let you catch me all sweaty again." he pouted. Adorably so. Innocently even.

"What's so wrong with sweaty?" he smirked. _'And there goes the innocence.'_ I gave him a look. "Alright, fine. What else do you like to do aside of stabbing air?"

"Ha, ha, ha. You are hilarious. Rib-cracking, to be sure." He gave me a wink.

"Of course I am. And on top of that, I'm downright sexy! A bonus is that I'm interested in what you want to do for today. So, what would you like to do?" I chuckled and thought a little.

"I really have no idea." He smiled.

"How about you give your camera a little more work? Get you re-acquainted with this quaint little town." I looked at him with a smile spreading across my face.

"That... would be perfect."

**A/N:** alright, I suppose I should begin with a huge apology to all my cherished readers for the terrible delay. In my defence, it was my 18th birthday and I went on a cruise with my family so... but that was only the last 11 days or so. The days before were still rather hectic so, many apologies. I hope this chapter makes up for it! Once again, reviews are love and this is your story so you have to tell me how it's going. I plan on skipping a week or so from now to the next chapter (speaking in story time) because it would be rather tedious if I took the time to tell about each and every day. This fanfic would never end. Literally. Anyways, thanks to this proposed little jump into the near future, some action will be coming up, albeit very little. But baby steps, people. And if you don't like it, you can still hit the review button and "yell" at me about it.

Thanks again and sorry for the delay!!!!

Toodles!

A simple calculation got me to this result: in the show they say Stefan's stuck at 17 and that, as a vamp, he's 162. 162-17= 145 my sweets! And then, they say Damon's 170. So 170-145=... yep! 25! Which coincides with the fact that he's supposed to go to college or has just left or something. You're all smart people. You get it. And even if it doesn't match up, it fits THIS story.

I hope nobody jumps up and says that vamps have cold skin on this one. Because Stefan specifically said that coffee warms them up. And if Damon is having ANOTHER cup of coffee, it means that Sophia feels no difference between her temperature and his. So nobody gets to flame me for this one.

Hehe, I just had to say that. It's a vamp fanfic. It has to be in there somewhere. You know how it is.

Let's face it: the Weasleys' fireworks kick any other firework's ass and, hence, are perfect to describe what it would feel like to have Damon Salvatore kiss you...*sigh*. *clears throat*, any way. Hope you like it!

Let's pretend Jenna does know Damon! That's what fan fiction's here for anyways...


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

That afternoon, as I walked back into the house, I felt a strange shiver ran through me. Which was rather strange cause, lately, I've been as happy as anybody could be. I tried to shake it off as I walked straight upstairs. After all, Damon said he'd be here by sundown to start planning our road trip. It'd been a week and a half since we'd started... I suppose the word is 'dating'. I giggled. Yep, my life was starting to make up for everything my life had been. Does that even make any sense?

I shook my head trying to rid myself of the weird face I was sure I was making, looking up at the clock. I had 30 minutes. He'd told me that dinner was on him. And so, after a 10-minute shower, since I'd been out for the daily workout, I started walking around, trying to decide what to wear. Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door. I froze, taking another peak at the clock, in case I'd mistaken the time. I hadn't. Damon was, so far, always on time, not nearly as early as this. So then, who the hell was it? The bad feeling was back. Elena was out with friends, Jeremy was at the library and Jenna was still at work. I was home alone.

I walked into Elena's bedroom, which was at the front of the house, and peered out of her window. All I could see was a sleek, black car, with tinted windows. It looked very official. I couldn't make out the driver. The knocking persisted. Whoever it was was already on the porch. But it sure as hell wasn't Damon. _'Shit!' _I ran back to my room, grabbed my cell phone and started to, cautiously, make my way down stairs.

"Can't live a minute more without me, can you?" Hearing his voice made me smile.

"Actually I was wondering if it was the other way around and you were already on your way here."

"Is something wrong?" I could almost see his frown.

"Sleek, black car at my front door, with tinted windows and persistent knocking is never a good sign for me."

"I'll be there in a couple of minutes." I sighed, reaching the front door and taking a peak out of the window. My heart froze.

"Good, cause these two guys in suits are part of my mom's cult-like bodyguards. And if I don't answer this door soon, they're likely to break it down."

"Hang on. I'll be there in a few." And he hung up. It was likely to be the some of the longest minutes I'd ever lived through.

I ran back upstairs as quietly as I could, threw on a pair of jeans, a crème v-neck T, knee-high, high-thick-heeled dark brown leather boots and grabbed my matching knee-length coat. Stuffing my wallet into my jeans, as well as my cell-phone, and storing my sai into my boots, I ran back downstairs to see if the guys in suits were already trying to break down the door. They had already tired of knocking so it couldn't be too long till they started having a go at the poor door. I still don't know why these guys were so fucking loyal to my delusional mother. But they were. And at the moment, that was all that mattered. Through the curtains, I saw them retreat slightly. Uh oh.

I turned to ran out the back door. I'd probably have to pay Jenna later for the broken door, but it'd be better than getting caught. How much can a door cost when compared with the price of my freedom?

I started running out the backyard when I heard a crash and footsteps in the house. They were in. I nearly ran over the white fence that closed the backyard trying to get out.

"There she is!" I'll never understand either why I was running or why I didn't freeze up like previous times. I guess that I ran because it was a bit of a reflex. I always ran away from my mom's goons. After all, I would never forget the day they started using stun-guns. And I suppose I didn't freeze this time because this time I had all the right to keep running. But that's not the problem. The problem was I ran straight into the forest. The sun was already down and, at the back of my head, it registered that there was a serial killer on the loose. But I just kept running, I couldn't afford the doubt.

As I ran through the forest, aside from the crunching footsteps closing in behind me, I felt, rather than heard, someone or something else. I felt a chill run down my spine. Whoever or whatever it was, it was playing with me. A hunter who was toying with my sense of security, a lurking predator who had already caught me, remaining on the edges as if to make me believe it hadn't yet. It just fuelled me into running faster.

Suddenly I crashed into a hard, warm body. I panicked for a moment before recognising the strong arms coming to surround my waist. _Damon._ I sighed, wrapping my own arms around his neck and kissing the living daylights out of him.

"I don't think I've ever been this glad to see you!" I whispered, pulling away.

"I noticed." He chuckled under his breath. "Come on, the car's this way." Vaguely, I registered that lurking-hunter-feeling was easing away. But it wasn't completely gone. I halted to a stop.

"I can't just leave like this. They've seen me. They know where I am." Damon looked at me.

"I've got an idea. Come on." We started walking back to the house.

"We're going back?"

"YOU are staying at the edge of the forest. I will bite their heads off for breaking down MY door." I nodded, liking the plan.

"How will you explain me running out of YOUR backyard?" he shrugged nonchalantly.

"An expensive pro thinking it's the cops coming after her. After all, didn't you mention you used to have long hair?"

I hid between the picket fence and the forest's edge while Damon yelled at the guys in suits for the damage caused. They surprisingly bought it. I wasn't about to complain though. Soon enough, Damon came out of the house and began to guide me towards his car. I happily let him. That feeling of being watched was creeping me out.

"Do you ever get a feeling of being watched?" he snapped his gaze to mine.

"What do you mean?" I sighed.

"It's just... while I was running through the forest, just now, I felt as if there was something out there, hunting me." He frowned in worry for a moment, then waved my fears away, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and squeezing me to him.

"It probably was the adrenaline. Besides, in some ways, you were being hunted by those guys. Forget about them. I've got you now." he has stopped walking and he pulled me close and gave me a soft kiss as if to prove his point. I let out a sigh and a small smile. A few steps further got us to his car. "Before we do anything else, there's something I want you to have."

"A gift?" he nodded and I nearly melted! He had something for me?

"Here you go." I took the velvety bag, opened it and gently shook the contents onto my hand. What fell onto my palm took my breath away. It was a locket. A beautiful silver, heart-shaped locket. It had a blood-red stone at the centre, dare I think it, a ruby. There appeared to be two different clasps on the side. The pendant was rather big. Probably a little over a quarter the size of my palm. A slightly-thicker-than-normal silver chain finished off the vintage look. The whole thing was absolutely beautiful. Suddenly, my nose got a whiff of some unknown sweet smell. I brought the pendant to my nose.

"Is that... what is that smell? I've never come across it before." Damon smiled, taking the locket in his hand.

"It's a rather rare herb called vervain. Thought the smell would be a nice touch. You can tell me when it's running out so I can refill it." He point to one of the claps. "That's the opening for the vervain. But you need a special lock-pick thingy for it." I nodded. Good to know cause I really didn't want to do anything to it. "This second clasp is for you to put a picture in or whatever." I smiled, taking it back. Surprisingly, for the whole ensemble, the locket was rather light.

"It's beautiful. Thank you so much. You really didn't have to give me anything."

"Of course I did. I have to keep making points, right?" I chuckled, turning round and silently requesting his help to get it on. His cool fingers brushed against my neck, making me shiver. When he was done, I turned around and kissed him again. This time, though, I took my time. Only when the oxygen became an issue did I pull away. "Now, how about we go to my house, were we won't be disturbed, and plan that road trip?"

"What ever happened to dinner?"

"Oh, you know, there's this little thing called take-out. You should definitely look into it." I laughed out loud, while getting into his Chevy. I'll confess, I was very giddy. I hadn't been to his house yet...

"THIS is your house?!" I looked up at the boarding house in wonder. It was HUGE! And it had that 'haunted mansion' air to it. "I love it!"

"Wait till you see my room." He whispered, leaning in as he guided me to the door, ever the gentleman. I smirked.

As he closed the door behind us, I took the time to look around. Yep, definitely cool, old, 'haunted' mansion. I officially loved this place!

"Damon?" I turned around to see Damon's brother coming down the stairs. He turned to look at me in surprise. "Damon, can we talk?"

"Sure we can, but first, let me get Sophia settled in. Want anything to drink?" I shook my head and nudged him towards his brother with a pointed look. We had been talking about this, at least once a day. He gave me a bored look and a slight groan but he started walking anyways.

As soon as he had disappeared with his brother into one of the many rooms I suspected the house had, I took to wandering around. There was a rather huge living room, complete with the old family portraits and the scotch table. I saw a door to the left and headed towards it. It was a library. A HUGE library. I walked around as if I were dreaming. I walked around, brushing my fingers over the aged volumes. It looked as if there were books from over a century ago. I loved the smell of ancient pages that permeated the air. I sighed in content.

Walking down the aisles, I found a rather dusty section. Upon grabbing a book and opening it, I came to the conclusion that, apparently, this section was made up entirely of old journals. If the first date was anything to go by, these were from the 1800s. Wow. Walking further down, I saw that the section got progressively cleaner. Or, at least, the dust had been disturbed. I grabbed one of the "cleaner" ones and opened it on the first page. The date read 'Christmas Day, 1863'. Again, wow. I wasn't reading anything, I just took a superficial look at the curvy penmanship of those days, loving the style, the old pages, the worn, leather bounding. When suddenly, a name jumped at me:

'_Damon and I both got our new journals today. Father had them be custom-made. He even engraved our names on the leather bounding. '_

Huh. Cool. I turned the journal around in my hand, looking for a name. I found it at the back of the book: Stefan Salvatore. I frowned. I kept reading:

'_My brother wasn't particularly excited about this, he says it just means more responsibilities. He says that Father only gave this to him so that he can keep up with Damon's whereabouts and doings while in the Army. I just smiled at him, telling him that, maybe, now I can know what happens to him. He smirked at me, saying he wasn't about to allow anyone anywhere near this journal."_

I found it a bit odd that Damon and Stefan had been named after... well, Damon and Stefan.

"Knew I'd find you here." I heard his voice just a few steps behind and I turned to see him leaning against a book case. I had a brief déjà vu to our encounter in the forest but shook my head and smiled. "What was that?" he said, giving me a weird look.

"Nothing." I said, still smiling. Not that I can stop myself when he's around. "It just reminded me of when we met at the forest." He nodded, then saw the journal I had in my hands. A strange look passed his face, but as swiftly as it had come, it was gone.

"See you found the old Salvatore journals." I nodded.

"Is it ok? I wasn't really reading, I was merely looking over the book itself." He chuckled.

"Don't worry about it."

"But, I couldn't help seeing the 'Stefan Salvatore' inscription at the back of the book. Was Stefan named after this Stefan?" the fleeting strange look was back. But I managed to recognise it. Worry.

"Yep. And I was named after that Stefan's brother, Damon. They were the first generation of Salvatores to be born in Mystic Falls, after the Founding families arrived." He walked up to me, pulling me in and surrounding my waist with his strong arms. "But, as interesting as my ancestors may seem to you, I think we have a more important task to plan..." he said slyly, tapping the tip of my nose lightly. I giggled, nodding. _'The effect this man has on me...'_

It was half-past 11, by the time we decided to call it a night. We had been searching the internet for places to see along the road and we'd come up with a week-long road-trip. It was going to be exhausting... but SO much fun!

"Now, how about some dinner?" I promptly nodded as he rose from the couch we had been cuddling on.

"You do that, while I take a breather. I'm gonna be in the backyard." Damon nodded over his shoulder as he walked confidently to what I supposed was the kitchen. I hadn't had time to explore the entire house yet.

"What would you like for dinner?" I shrugged.

"Mac & Cheese? I don't know. The simplest thing to make, don't go out of your way." He pouted cutely at me. Who would've known Damon Salvatore could pout like that?

"You don't want to test my culinary skills?"

"Not tonight. I think we're both too tired to fully appreciate food." He chuckled, nodding.

"Mac & Cheese it is then."

As he disappeared into the depths of the house, I started walking outside. The backyard was huge. Only stopped by the forest itself. I stretched a little. Don't get me wrong, I love being cuddled up to Damon, but I already forgot the point when my legs went to sleep.

Suddenly, I got that bad feeling back. You know, the one that tells me I'm being watched? Hunted? Yeah, that one. I started looking around. I couldn't really see anyone, it was, after all, close to midnight. All of a sudden, there was movement among the front line of trees. And a man walked out. A ragged-looking, messy-haired and wild-eyed man. Adrenaline shot through me at the thought that this might just be the famous serial killer that was rumoured to be loose in town. His wild-looking eyes were on me, as if I wasn't a person, but a prey. He was staring at me with blatant hunger written across his face and I couldn't help the shiver that ran through me. It takes a lot to scare me. And this man could. Slowly, I started walking back into the house, backwards, so as to never let the mystery man out of my sight. Then I blinked, and he was gone. _'Ok, I'm officially freaked out.'_

I turned to ran back inside and warn Damon when I crashed into a foul-smelling something. It was the same man that had been over 300 feet away from me only seconds ago. His grip on my arm and neck felt as if he could easily break them. And it hurt like hell. I don't consider myself a screamer. In fact, my therapist once told me that I tend to keep too much quiet. Back then, I thought that my therapist was the one who needed the therapy. But being held down by that man, I realised I had never screamed. Not really. And considering the guy was choking me, I still don't know how I managed.

"DAMON!" the freak holding me zeroed in on my neck. My mind flew back to what Jeremy had said about how he tears his victims' throats out. Suddenly, the thing, man, whatever it was, lunged at me. As if to bite me.

The next second, the freak got thrown against the back wall. I sank to the ground, gasping for breath. I looked up to see Damon pinning the bastard to the wall, single-handedly. Apparently waiting for something. I looked at the bastard. His face was all wrong. There were dark, nearly black, veins beneath his eyes, fangs were protruding from his mouth and his eyes were all red.

"Damon." I hoped it would come out firmly, but after the chokehold I'd been held in, it was more of a wheeze. Regardless, as if he'd heard me clearly, he turned to look at me, and I saw that his face was contorted in much the same way. The dark veins, the red eyes, the fangs. Wow. "Is this what everybody has been keeping from me?" he turned away from me and back to the asshole he was holding against the wall. In a blink, Stefan was standing beside his brother.

"Call the Sheriff. Tell her we've caught him. She's gonna want to see this." Stefan nodded, handing Damon a wooden stake and pulling out his phone.

"Damon!" oh, he was NOT going to ignore me! But I guess that was the wrong time to yell at him 'cause his hold on this guy loosened and he was thrown an unthinkable amount of feet away from me. Without thinking I pulled out my sai. What they could do against vampires, I didn't know, but I fully intended to find out. I thrust my arms in front of me, as the sucker lunged at me yet again. The knifes buried deep into his shoulders and he growled in pain. I kicked him off, holding tight to my bloody knifes, turned on my heel and ran towards Damon as fast as I could. I heard/ felt a rush of air behind me. Without stopping I turned my head around to see Stefan grabbing onto the intruder.

"Get in the house."

"What good is that?!" _'You gonna tell me vampires can't break down doors?'_

"He can't go in unless he's invited. Now get inside." Damon was suddenly standing by my side and pulling me towards the door. Once I'd stepped over the threshold, he walked back towards Stefan and my attacker. "Did you reach the Sheriff?"

"She'll be here in 10 minutes." He nodded.

"Then let's leave him here while we wait." And without further ado, he raised the stake.

"WAIT!" both brothers turned to me as I rushed out of the house. "Can I?" Stefan's eyes widened amusingly.

"That's my girl." I looked at Damon. A few minutes ago, when he first turned to look at me with his vampire face, he looked as if he'd lost everything he held dear. Now, he had the most relieved look on his face. "Drive it into his stomach, we don't want to kill him just yet." He handed me the stake and, holding it with both hands, I impaled it as instructed. Which got me thinking.

"Does the Sheriff know you two are vamps?" Stefan finally recovered.

"Doesn't this upset you?" I shrugged.

"The only one I'm upset with is with the bastard wearing a stake. And that's because he tried to turn me into a midnight snack." Another blink and Damon was standing in front of me, pulling me close and kissing me as if there was no tomorrow. He only pulled back when he felt me gasping for breath. And the only reason why I didn't fall to the ground was because he was holding me up. "I take it that had you a bit worried." I breathed out.

"Like you have no idea. But tell that to anyone and I will deny it." he added with a small smirk. I giggled and kissed him again, my arms wrapping around his neck. When I pulled back, he just held me despairingly close. I sighed in contentment, resting my head on his shoulder. From there, I saw Stefan smiling softly. I smiled back. Then, he frowned.

"What is that?" he was staring at my neck. Or rather, he was staring at what was hanging of my neck.

"Oh, Damon gave it to me. Don't know why he bothered, by I ain't complaining." I said with a smirk. Stefan was nodding to himself with a small smirk of his own.

"What does it smell like?" he asked. I heard Damon groan.

"He said the name was vervain. Why?" Stefan was wearing a very smug look on his face.

"No reason."

"Does it have anything to do with you two being vampires?" Damon pulled back slightly.

"YOU, missy, are too smart for your own good. And yes it does. Vampires have what we call 'compulsion', which means we can force you to do our bidding. Wearing vervain negates our powers to control your mind." I opened my mouth. Then closed it. Probably looked like a fish doing that. Not only was he giving me a very pretty necklace. He was also protecting me.

"Which means that I can feel a little more comfortable with this relationship. He seems to be taking it very seriously." Stefan added in a conspiratorial tone. I giggled. I seemed to be doing that a lot.

"Oh so he really is the bad brother?" I felt Damon tense. Stefan grimaced. "What? Alright, what's the worst that you've done?" I said, looking up at Damon.

"Can we talk about this some other time?"

"Nope. We are talking about this now. So, worst deed for the past... How old are you?" they both chuckled.

"How old do you think we are?" Stefan asked.

"I don't know. Damon doesn't look over 25, and you don't look over 18? Maybe 20, but factoring in the vampire part... how could I ever know?" I felt Damon's chest shake with laughter.

"You already know. Think back."

"To when?"

I started thinking back from that moment to earlier in the day: The vampire brothers, the vampire asshole currently bleeding on the floor beside us, me getting scared out of my wits by the aforementioned asshole, me stepping out of the house, Damon getting dinner ready, us researching for the road-trip. As I looked back, questions popped at me about certain things that didn't quite go with my idea of vampire. Suddenly, I arrived back at the moment when Damon had found me nosing around in the library. The journals.

"1863?!" I turned to look at them. "Those journals were actually yours?!" Stefan lifted his eyebrows.

"She found the journals?"

"She's a bit of a bookworm."

"That would make you... 145 years old!" they nodded.

"Technically, he's still the eldest, because you also count the years you spent alive, which means Damon's 170 and I'm 162."

"Technicalities." I muttered, dismissing them with a waved of my hand. "Wow. And there you were complaining of feeling old when I called you Mr. Salvatore!" I grumbled into Damon's chest. They both laughed. "Well it looks like you're pals once again."

"We actually can stand each other when he's not getting me into trouble." Stefan smirked. I jumped when we heard the door bell. "That must be the Sheriff."

"Stef, take her home. I don't need the Sheriff questioning her." Damon said.

"What about dinner? I still have tons of questions!" Stefan laughed as Damon huffed.

"Fine. Take her up to my room. Don't make a sound. And you're lucky I didn't even start dinner. Or it would've burned already. I'll go get you when the Sheriff leaves." And with a short kiss, I left with Stefan up the stairs, while Damon went to open the door.

**A/N:** I'm SO SORRY!!!!! I don't remember the last time I update but please, do forgive the delay. I hope the slightly longer-than-usual chappie makes up for it also... *insert sing-song voice* she found out! Anyways, read, enjoy, hate, etc, and most importantly: REVIEW!!!!!!!!

Toodles!


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

As Stefan guided me towards Damon's bedroom, I could hear Damon talking to the Sheriff about the fanged bastard lying outside.

"So... what _is_ the worst thing he's ever done?" I asked Stefan in as soft a whisper as I could pull off. He simply chuckled.

"I'll let him tell you all about it." I looked at him with pleading puppy-dog eyes. "Oh no. I'm not going to risk him kicking my ass because of it." I cocked an eyebrow.

"He can kick your ass?" Stefan made a face.

"Unfortunately. As I said, he's older, a technicality that, in this case, does count, AND he feeds properly." I can only imagine the puzzled look on my face.

"Okay, fine, he's older. But what do you mean properly?" Stefan looked over his shoulder.

"Add it to your list of questions." I smirked.

"He can hear us, right?" Stefan nodded with a small smirk of his own. "Oh Goddess, this is too good."

"So you really don't mind?" Stefan had a serious look on his face. Suddenly, I remembered every time Damon had made a mention of his brother's broody moments.

"I'll answer that to his face. Maybe that way, he won't try to avoid me afterwards." Stefan looked at me, surprised. "What? You think I didn't notice the look of worry on his face while we were out back? He is _not_ going to avoid this." Stefan chuckled, opening a door.

"Maybe you are exactly what he needs, after all." I smiled, stepping in and turning to wave a hand as he disappeared back into the hallway, closing the door behind him. I took the chance to look around.

It was nothing like I would've expected Damon's room to look like. But then again, I didn't expect Damon to turn out to be a 170-year-old vampire. When I met Damon, I pictured his room to be something extremely sophisticated, like a bachelor's pad, with high-tech stuff, plasma screens, all minimalistic, dark and alluring. His actual room belonged to an, at least, 145-year-old mansion. Adding the newly acquired knowledge about his real age, I thought it quite fitting that he had a huge bed, wooden furniture, and quite a few books strewn around, with the appearance of having known better days. It seemed that nobody had moved a thing since the 1860's. But everything was in dark colours: the sheets were a satiny black, the wood was as dark as it got, the clothes. In many ways, it suited him better than the minimalistic bachelor pad I had imagined. I took a seat on the bed and, suddenly, I realised how exhausted I was. The workout earlier, the adrenaline-filled escape, the planning, the attack. It had all been kinda tiring. As I thought back to all the things that had happened today I thought back to how Damon had gotten those bodyguards off my trail. It had seemed awfully easy at the time. Lying down on the bed, drifting off to sleep, I connected the dots. Damon had done his Jedi-mind-control thing on them. I smiled, the feeling of safety the last thing I registered.

A soft pair of lips on my forehead brought me out of my unconsciousness.

"Hey." Damon's blue eyes were the first thing I saw.

"What time is it?"

"A little after 1. The Sheriff took her time with this one. Not to mention, I had to intervene on several occasions so that the idiot didn't spill on Stefan and me." I nodded.

"I better go home then. I'll come by with my questions tomorrow." However, two strong hands were already pushing me back down on the bed.

"I already called Elena. Told her that, since it was late, she wouldn't be seeing you until morning. So stay where you are." I cocked an eyebrow, amused.

"And she just let it go?" he scoffed.

"Of course she didn't. But it's not like she can come drag you home, and I swore on every deity known to man that I would keep you safe. Then I hang up. She's been calling your cell ever since."

"How long ago was this?"

"About 5 minutes ago." I checked my cell phone. I had about 30 missed calls.

"I better call her." He nodded. Goddess bless speed-dialling because, sleepy as I was, I never would've managed to call her.

"Hello? Sophie? Are you ok? Do you need me to come get you?"

"Whoa! Slow down there Lena. Damon just woke me up so that I could answer what would've been the 31st missed call in about 5 minutes so don't test my brain power just yet."

"You fell asleep?"

"Yes, Elena, I fell asleep. And my neck is still intact, thank you very much!" I could practically hear her gulp.

"He told you?"

"Actually, I found out when he protected me from that alleged 'serial-killer' Jeremy told us about the other night. Turns out, that guy really was a vampire."

"WHAT? You got attacked? Oh my God, Sophie!"

"Chillax, I'm good. Now can I please go back to sleep?"

"How can you feel safe there?"

"Because he hasn't tried to kill me, _and_ I have no mysterious bite marks, _and_ because I trust him. You should try it sometime. Face it, Lena, despite my sleepy state of mind, this doesn't bother me. Like you knew it wouldn't." She sighed.

"I'll see you tomorrow, after school."

"Oh no, missy. I'll be going to have lunch with you and a certain brooding, century-old gentleman. It's time to straighten _that_ out." She sighed again.

"Fine. Goodnight Soph."

"G'night Lenny." Damon was staring at me with a small smirk.

"Wow. You handled that pretty well for being as sleepy as you claim to be." I smirked back at him.

"The sleepiness helps to deter Elena from trying to deter _me_. Now come here. The bed's big enough." Damon chuckled.

"You sure you want to sleep in jeans and boots?" I looked down at myself.

"Any suggestions?" laughing quietly, he got up, rummaging through a drawer before pulling out some black, silky PJs.

"You get the shirt, I'll keep the pants."

"Deal." Taking hold of the shirt, I started pulling off boots, socks, jeans and T-shirt without much regard as to who could be watching. I barely registered that I should turn around, which I thankfully did, before taking off my bra and pulling the shirt on and buttoning it down, placing the piece of underwear upon the pile of clothes I had already discarded. The shirt reached half-way down my thigh so I had no problem with getting up, granted a little wobbly, and putting my clothes on one of the chairs in the room. Then I walked back to the bed and slipped under the covers.

"Thanks for the show..." I turned to look at Damon. His eyes were impossibly dark, a look of hunger in his face. But it wasn't the hunger I had seen on the killer's face as he looked at my neck. No. This was something much more common. Much healthier. Lust.

"I expect one in return..." Boy, was I hoping for one...

"Then I shall oblige." He had already kicked off his shoes and socks. Standing at the foot of the bed, he started unbuttoning his black shirt. Suddenly, I was as alert as can be. Every button was a promise of something more. Every pause was a bloody torture. Slowly, too slowly, the shirt was pealed off and his chiselled, porcelain chest was there for me to behold. Oh how I wanted to jump the man at this point. Until he reached for his jeans and then I had to wait and see. Popping the top button, toying with the zipper till I wanted to reach out and rip it off, and then the jeans were also off.

Boxer briefs. I should've guessed that Damon Salvatore wore silk boxer briefs. But as I hadn't anticipated this far, all I could do was stare.

"Oh sweet Circe..." he smirked widely at my mumbling. Suddenly, disregarding his state of dress (and mine), he jumped on the bed and started crawling up to me. Trapping me between the dark, carved head-board and himself, he slid his cool hands from my toes, up my calves, my thighs, past my hips, finally settling on my waist and pulled me as close as inhumanly possible. My breath had left me long ago, though I was gasping for air and my heart was going a mile a minute. The devilish look on his face as he looked at my lips and then back into my eyes told me everything I needed to know. I would have to stop calling him Mr. Salvatore soon enough.

When he kissed me, his lips were cool and gentle, but they set me on fire, ablaze with passion. His tongue did wicked things to my senses, his hands overpowering my brain as they travelled all over me. I moaned as they grazed my breasts, gasped as they glided over my thighs, groaned as he didn't go any further, whimpered as he pulled my bottom lip between his teeth, growled when he let go of my mouth only to moan again as he latched onto my neck. Goddess I was in heaven.

Suddenly, he pulled away. I groaned in complaint, but he was already standing on the other side of the room with his back to me. I blinked, got my bearings and started walking over to him.

"Stay there." His voice sounded strained. As if he was fighting something.

"Look at me." He didn't move. "Damon. Look. At. Me." Slowly, he turned to look at me. I saw the dark veins under his eyes, saw the red tinge of his irises, saw the fangs glinting from in between his lips. "Don't hide it. It's part of who you are." When he didn't seem too convinced I went for the kill. "Damon Salvatore, don't you dare go all Edward Cullen on me!" I stated firmly and with a pointed look. He looked into my eyes, with a chuckle, and I was able to see the reverse change. The veins cleared off, the fangs retracted and the eyes went back to the hypnotising blue. "Good. Now get your gorgeous vampire ass over here. If your going to be no fun, at least be a decent pillow." He flashed me a smirk and then he was suddenly under the covers, waiting for mortal, little me to join him. I slid under the covers next to him and sighed.

"Sophia?" he angled his body to face me. I looked up with slight surprise. I don't think I'd ever heard him calling me by my name yet.

"Yes?" I said, facing him.

"I think I love you." For the first time I was speechless. I was never one to believe in love at first sight. I thought it was bull. But this wasn't first sight. This was a two-week-notice. With a lot of sensitive secrets involved. So yeah. I could admit it too.

"I think I love you too." I felt his lips on mine and I closed my eyes to enjoy the feeling. The kiss was short, but, dare I say it, full of promise. As goes the Disney-famous line, this could be the start of something new...

He pulled me against his chest and the last thing I saw were those blue eyes watching over me.

The next morning, I woke up with no intention of getting up. I was in a warm and fluffy heaven, with strong arms wrapped around me and a soft and firm pillow underneath my head. I breathed in deeply. _Damon_. I rubbed my face against his chest. I opened my eyes at the sound of a soft growl. Almost a purr. He still had his eyes closed. But I knew he was awake. I closed my eyes and snuggled closer, if possible, to him. I felt his arms wrap around me still more firmly, felt his sigh and _knew_ he had opened his eyes.

"Hmm... I could wake up to this every day..."

"Blessed clichés." I mumbled back, opening my eyes to look up at the sky-blue eyes of the gorgeous vampire beneath me. I felt him chuckling. Suddenly my stomach complained at the lack of food. He held back from laughing out loud.

"Breakfast?" I glared at him.

"Our attempt at dinner last night was thwarted so yeah. Breakfast." He chuckled once again, getting up, pulling on the discarded pyjama pants, pulling me up with him and carrying me down to the kitchen in the blink of an eye.

"Morning, love-birds." Stefan was already comfortably seated at the kitchen table. A knock on the door of the house saved him from being pulled into a head-lock by Damon. I jumped on the table, sitting down and looking around. The kitchen looked, surprisingly, used.

"You guys can eat?" Damon nodded from behind the fridge door.

"Keeping a healthy diet we can eat normal food."

"Oh right, what exactly qualifies as a healthy diet cause, last night, Stefan mentioned that you fed 'properly'." I remembered, doing air quotes. Damon froze. "I get the 'vampires feed on blood part' so skip over to explaining the difference." He grimaced.

"Stefan has the Cullen diet. I feed on humans."

"Oh." I nodded. "And that makes you stronger? He mentioned you could kick his ass." Damon smirked walking over to me.

"Twice over." I laughed. He leaned in and kissed me. The feeling of his lips on mine triggered the memory of last night. He wrapped his arms around me, getting as close as possible, standing between my dangling legs.

"Guys, come on. Not on the kitchen table." Stefan's voice made us pull away. We both turned to him, Damon fully intending on throwing him out, by the look on his face. Elena's presence, however, made the comment die on his lips.

"Well, hello Mrs. Brooding Forehead!" I barely contained the laughter that attacked me at that point. If Stefan's expression was anything to go by, he was also fighting off _at least_ a smile. Elena didn't look too amused though.

"What are you doing?" she barked at me.

"I'm kissing my... what are we?" I casually turned to Damon. He pretended to think about it.

"I think boyfriend and girlfriend titles can be bestowed from this point onwards." I nodded in agreement as if it was a wise decision. I heard Stefan snickering.

"Yeah, I'm kissing my vampire boyfriend. If it bothers you so much, go get your own." I stated with a pointed look at Stefan. I heard Damon's soft snort. And I felt the tightening of his grip on my waist when I said _'vampire boyfriend'_. For his benefit and Elena's chagrin, I turned and continued kissing him.

"Sophia!" I pulled back and turned to her.

"Yes?" she started opening and closing her mouth in a very amusing way. "Lena, I don't know what you expected to get out of this visit. What you will get is a kick in the ass if you keep pushing the issue." Elena looked at me as if she couldn't understand what I was saying. "Why do you seem to have such a huge problem with this?"

"Because it's _Damon_. I wouldn't care if it was someone like Stefan, but you don't know what Damon's done!" I huffed.

"Fine. Then let's find out." I turned back to Damon, then back to Elena. "What are the charges against the accused?"

"The charges, _you Honour_, are nothing short of murder, manipulation and a general lack of regard for humanity." I looked at Damon, perfectly unfazed.

"How does the accused plead?" Damon looked me in the eye with the smallest of smirks. "Hey, you have to answer the judge!" I whined. He gave a very soft chuckle, still fighting off a smirk.

"Guilty as charged, your Honour."

"Okay. This body condemns Mr. Salvatore to making me happy for as long as he can as payment for his crimes." I turned back to Elena. "There. I'll be judge, jury _and_ executioner. Happy? I think it's a pretty fair sentence. You know how hard I can be to please." Elena was looking at me as if I'd gone mad.

"I just told you the guy's a murderous vampire, he admitted to it, and you still want to be with him?"

"Lena. Some people, actual, living, breathing suckers, kill other people just because. They don't need to be vampires to do it. What are psychopaths? What are terrorists? Think about all the people that, at some point or other, directly or indirectly, have sent other people to their deaths. I'm sure that if you dig deep enough, Damon probably had better reasons to kill who ever he's killed, than all those other very much _human_ people. Besides, let's face it: humans just aren't at the top of the food chain. Personally, I think that's a good thing." I could've laughed at their faces. Elena was just dumbstruck, Stefan had _'I hadn't thought about that'_ written all over his face. Damon... Damon was a mix between _'that's my girl'_, _'Thank the Gods she thinks that'_ and _'I so totally love you'_.

"How can you take death so lightly?" Elena's voice was soft, almost hesitant.

"Lena, I'm sorry. I know that right now, talking about death, the only thing that comes to mind are your parents. But let's face it. Death is as common as life. It always has been. It always will be. They complement each other. Death will come for all of us. These two," I said, pointing at both Salvatores, "They're anomalies, but not for that do they need to be burned at the stake. They feed off our blood. We feed off the meat of other animals. It all comes down to that: we are not at the top of the food chain. And that's that. Besides, you know my view on life. I like taking things lightly because there is no time to take things seriously and still live a full life. Drama is just a waste of time." Elena sighed, finally a small smile making its way onto her face.

"You always could make me see it your way." I smirked.

"And don't you forget it! You were always too hard-headed for your own good anyways." I jumped off the table, and crossed the room to hug her. "You are one stubborn little... itch!" she laughed.

"Isn't that like the pot calling the kettle black?" I pulled back.

"No. The pot knows exactly what she's talking about. So she has every right to call you stubborn." We chuckled. Then Stefan cleared his throat.

"Elena, I'm sorry, but... we're going to be late." Elena snapped her gaze to her watch.

"Oh my God! Sophie, we'll continue calling each other stubborn later. I... we need to get to school." We hugged each other goodbye, and Stefan guided her outside.

"Well that went... well..." I turned to look at Damon.

"Hey, you heard her. I can be very convincing." I said with a smirk. He smirked back at me.

"Really? Can you convince me of letting you eat first before whisking you off to my room to ravish you?" I pouted.

"That is not fair! You can't confront me with two things I want at the same time! It defeats the purpose of convincing you to let me do what I want!" he chuckled lowly.

"Actually, I want to know what you want more: food, or me." I glared.

"Well, I'm sorry Mr. Salvatore, but if I don't eat, I won't have much energy left for whatever activities you have planned. So _you_ better let _me_ eat..." Damon laughed then set me on the table, moving around the kitchen making breakfast.

I watched with new-found understanding of how anyone could be as graceful as a tiger and as lethal (or so I hear) as a pissed-off cobra. I sat there thinking over all the conversations we'd had and how they made all the more sense now.

"Wait a minute." It was as if the metaphorical light-bulb had turned into a massive bonfire. Damon looked up, as worried as last night. "Exactly how long ago was the Katherine incident?"

"Oh. _That_." It seemed as if he was on the verge of saying something along the lines of 'you scared the shit out of me'. But that would be a very un-Damon thing to say. "1864. She turned us." My eyes widened far beyond average human proportions. I shook my head.

"So, now could you, pretty please, tell me your whole life's story?" I asked with a pouty smile, milking the situation for all it was worth.

Damon was about to say something, a smirk peeking from in between his lips, when his phone rang from the dinning hall.

"Saved by the bell." He whispered as he passed by me. I sighed in contentment, wondering how many things he had witnessed throughout history, what it had all been like. I've always wondered at the Roaring 20s. At least ever since I read 'The Great Gatsby'. I heard the door-bell and went to answer.

I shouldn't have.

The minute I opened the door, 2 pairs of hands shot at me, another pair holding a stun-gun. The glimpse I was allowed let me recognise the suits from my mum's goon squad. And there were six of them.

"Not you guys again!" I twisted away from them, pulling one in front of me to avoid the stun-gun, then running towards the sitting room. Hopefully, with a little more space I'd stand a chance. I kept an eye on my back to see if they would stop for aim. All I got was 3 arms rising simultaneously and enough time to throw myself behind a sofa to avoid unconsciousness.

"You know, I could have you guys arrested for breaking into private property." I sighed in relief. They may be giving me a little trouble. But they were no match for a 170-year-old vampire. _MY_ 170-year-old vampire.

"Back off, Mr. Salvatore. This is between Mrs. Natchios and her daughter. We are here on official business. We will exit your property as soon as she is in our custody." I peeked out from behind the sofa at this point. They were fairly distracted by the interruption. I looked at Damon. Now he really looked like a pissed-off cobra. Combined with a pissed-off tiger. This would be good.

"Duck." He growled at me. I cocked an eyebrow, much as he would.

"Nah uh." He growled again.

"Fine. But I'm warning you, I need a snack." I made a face.

"Fine. But you can't kill them. If they don't all go back, my mum will send the whole army after me." Suddenly, the goon squad realised I was still in the room and three stun-guns went off. I barely had time to duck. I heard the meanest growl ever to come out of a (at least seemingly) human and peeked again. Damon was now sporting the vamp look. Boy was he pissed. And were the goons pissing their pants from what I could see. Damon looked at me.

"Then well be taking the road-trip somewhere else. I haven't killed anyone in far too long. And you dearest mother needs to get the message." I grimaced slightly, understanding why Elena had been so worried. But I wasn't. After all, it wasn't me he was mad at.

There was a rush of movement and three suits went down, Damon crouching low in front of one, teeth securely attached to the bastard's throat. As the remaining three let out screams of fear and started making for the door, I grabbed a pair of pokers from the fireplace and run to cut them off. They had seen Damon. They would either be brain-washed or his lunch. The first three could be breakfast. I managed to get to the door before either one of them and stood with my back to the door. They pulled out their guns.

"Looks like you will be lunch." I pretended to bare my non-existent fangs, which scared them off to no end. I took my chance and swung the pokers at them, properly knocking them out. I carefully dropped the pokers across their heads for good measure.

Now, I know what you're thinking. How could I willingly give them up for vamp food? Well, please consider that these men where responsible for many failed escape attempts as a teen, which, in turn, resulted in far too many punishments. So maybe I was letting my resentment flourish. But, as I said, they'd seen Damon. And I don't like people pulling guns on me.

I looked up from these musings and saw Damon walking out from the sitting room, black veins marring his otherwise porcelain skin, eyes black and bloodshot, fangs out and thick, crimson drops dripping from his chin and onto his chest. I won't lie. It was a little scary. I again reminded myself that it wasn't me he was mad at, that if he hadn't cared he would've just let them take me, and how scared he had been last night when I found out. And how scared he looked now. Slowly, the veins cleared away, the eyes returned to their dazzling blue and the fangs disappeared. He raised his hand to wipe of the blood, but I stopped him and grabbed his hand to drag him to the guest bathroom to clear it away. I grabbed a towel, dampened it, and gently wiped off the blood. He still wasn't talking. I cleaned his chest as well and then walked out, him trailing behind me. I felt as if he was a kid silently begging for forgiveness after a temper tantrum. We arrived back the foyer where the remaining three goons laid still out cold.

Then I remembered what we were doing before the half a dozen idiots arrived.

"Do I get breakfast now?"

**A/N:** My darling readers: I AM SO FREAKING SORRY! I know it's been ages since my last update. And for those of you who wanted a peak at badass Damon, there it is. I was kinda missing him too. But don't worry, Chapter 6 is well on its way. So no, I haven't fallen off the edge of the world. I'm not dead, and you will get to read the end of this. Thank you all for all your support and for reading my story.

Toodles!


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